The Bad, The Good and . .

For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Hebrews 2:18 NASB

Suffered – Is suffering ever good? If you were a Greek in the first century, you might answer the question, “No!” In fact, even if you were a Jew, you would be hard pressed to find something good about suffering. Notice what TWOT says about the use of this term, páschō, in the LXX.

The word is rare in the LXX since the Hebrew has no corresponding term. We find it in Esth. 9:26; Am. 6:6; Zech. 11:5; Ezek. 16:5. The OT, of course, has much to say about suffering in Job, the Psalms, and Is. 53. The term occurs more commonly in the apocryphal works, e.g., for the sufferings of both Israel’s enemies and of Israel itself, the former as a punishment, the latter as discipline with a view to salvation.^[1]

Did you get that? There is no corresponding term in Hebrew. Something else is happening in the Hebrew thought world when it comes to experiencing suffering. But in the first century Greek world, suffering is first and foremost about evil.

The basic meaning of páschō is ‘to experience something that comes from outside.’ At first the ‘something’ is usually bad, and while a neutral use develops, the idea of suffering evil remains so strong that an addition is needed to show that good is meant unless the context is very plain.^[2]

The author of the book of Hebrews might be thinking in Hebrew, but he chooses a Greek term to express what happened to the Messiah in his temptations. There can be little doubt that this experience was bad. But it was necessary! That’s the difference. Suffering is not a good thing. We do not seek to suffer in order to increase our spiritual capital. But suffering is necessary. It is a necessary evil of free will.

Choice always includes suffering. It might not seem like that on the surface, but every choice excludes other possible outcomes and since other possible outcomes could be potentially beneficial, every choice implies suffering the loss of other possibilities. Even when we are not immediately aware of these possibilities, we often say something like this: “Oh, if I had only done such-and-such, things would have been different.” We recognize after the fact that our choices excluded other options. Perhaps Hebrew doesn’t have a word to fit this since Hebrew thought considers the sovereignty of God as a fundamental fact of the universe. God’s engineering and human choice are somehow both operative, but only God’s engineering seems evident when we reconsider past choices. Things couldn’t have been different than they actually were because God’s hand was present all along.

Now consider this verse in Hebrews. Yeshua suffered. The very possibility of temptation is suffering, even if righteous choices are made. And since he suffered just as we do, he knows what it is like to have to choose. He knows what it means to take one path instead of another. He knows how we feel when we say, “Oh, if only I had . . . .” And because he knows from the same experiential basis, he can help. That doesn’t mean he can spare us the suffering. Suffering isn’t good; it’s just necessary. But he knows that.

The role of the Messiah, the man who acts as our intercessor, God’s chosen agent, is underscored in this verse. He helps. He helps because he knows the trouble we face in the choices we make. He’s been there. A Messiah who cannot experience the suffering of choice is not a Messiah who can help me for I am a broken human being, ravaged by choice and past regret. I need a Messiah whose own choices show me how to suffer and be victorious at the same time. Thank God He sent one.

Topical Index: suffer, páschō, choice, Hebrews 2:18

^[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (798–799). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.

^[2] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (798). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.